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Friday, November 17, 2017

Excerpt & Giveaway: Dead Storage by Mary Feliz

I read this book back in the summer and liked it. When I saw it was touring, I immediately signed up. I'm not an organized person at home and I have hoarding tendencies so you'd think I wouldn't enjoy books with organization or professional organizers but I do. I like the peeks into that way of thinking and occasionally pick up tips. Check out my review, read the excerpt below, and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Mary Feliz writes the Maggie McDonald Mysteries featuring a Silicon Valley professional organizer and her sidekick golden retriever. She’s worked for Fortune 500 firms and mom and pop enterprises, competed in whale boat races and done synchronized swimming. She attends organizing conferences in her character’s stead, but Maggie’s skills leave her in the dust.

"It's Jason. Have you been able to get in touch with Stephen? I wanted to let him know I landed here safely and give him the unit's number in case of an emergency. Communications are going to be spotty. The storm knocked down a bunch of cell towers, and everyone's trying to call in or out to check on loved ones."

"Are you okay? I thought you told us not to call unless it was an emergency."

"I'm fine. The airport is miles from the disaster zone. Everyone's taking one last opportunity to phone home while they can. But didn't you have a meeting with Stephen this morning. How did it go?"

I chewed my bottom lip, not sure what I should tell Jason about Stephen. When in doubt, lead with the truth was one of my guiding principles, but I didn't want to worry Jason unnecessarily. And the truth was, I had no idea what was going on with Stephen.

"Maggie? Are you there?"

I decided to start slowly and add facts as needed.

"I'm here. I haven't been able to get in touch with Stephen either, I'm afraid, and he missed our scheduled appointment time. I'm not sure where he is."

"He didn't call? That's not like him. Where are you now? If I reach him, I'll tell him to call."

"At the vet with Belle and Munchkin."

"Both dogs? Is everything okay?"

And there it was. The question that demanded I come clean or deliberately hide the truth from Jason.

"Um..."

"Maggie, what's going on? Do I need to come home?"

"No!" I said, more vehemently than I'd intended. 'You need to be there. This project is your baby. You can't let your team down."

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Not much. I've got Belle and Munchkin here at the vet. I found Munchkin with some cuts. He may need stitches. We should be here a few more minutes and then I'll take him home. Or to my house if Stephen isn't back yet. I'm sure everything is fine." I'd told the truth, but felt a little guilty not sharing with Jason how concerned I was. I told myself I was probably worrying unnecessarily and could text Jason later when I had more information. Or Stephen could text him.

"Cuts? How did that happen? Was the poor boy in a knife fight? A bar brawl?" Jason laughed,

but had no way of knowing how close he'd come to what I feared might be the truth.

"I don't know. That's partly why I brought him to the vet. That and he has a bit of a stiff leg that I want to make sure doesn't need any special treatment. The vet's still looking at him, though, so I can't give you a report. I can fill you in later by text, right?"

"Sure, that'd be great. They're telling us that texts should get through most of the time. Apparently they take up less bandwidth than voice calls. And let me hear what you learn from Stephen, too. Tell him to call me. I gotta go now, though, there's a long line of people trying to use the phone."

"Take care, Jason," I said, but he'd already disconnected.

I clicked Belle's leash to her collar and set off to find Munchkin. My stomach rumbled. It was nearing lunchtime. I was hungry and it was time for me and the dogs to salvage something useful from this crazy day.

Belle and I ran into Dr. Davidson before we got to the examining room. I greeted him and re-introduced myself, since I'd met him only once several months earlier. "How is Munchkin?"

The doctor frowned and my mouth went dry. Belle sat and whined.

"He'll be fine," he said, brushing his hair back from his forehead so it stuck up in stiff spikes. "But I want him to stay here tonight. He's lucky you brought him in when you did. Much later and..." The doctor cleared his throat, brushed his hair back and looked at the floor, then the ceiling, and then the corridor behind him. Anywhere but at Belle and me.

***************

As a professional organizer, Maggie McDonald brings order to messy situations. But when a good friend becomes a murder suspect, surviving the chaos is one tall task . . .

Despite a looming deadline, Maggie thinks she has what it takes to help friends Jason and Stephen unclutter their large Victorian in time for its scheduled renovation. But before she can fill a single bin with unused junk, Jason leaves for Texas on an emergency business trip, Stephen’s injured mastiff limps home—and Stephen himself lands in jail for murder. Someone killed the owner of a local Chinese restaurant and stuffed him in the freezer. Stephen, caught at the crime scene covered in blood, is the number one suspect. Now Maggie must devise a strategy to sort through secrets and set him free—before she’s tossed into permanent storage next

The author is giving away one print copy to a US reader. Leave a comment below - are you organized? A lot, a little, you could be (or are) a professional organizer? What tricks do you use?

Giveaway ends next next Wednesday, November 22nd at 11:59PM eastern time. Make sure your comment includes an email address or another way to contact you. No purchase necessary. VOID where prohibited. Please read my Giveaway and Privacy policies.

Thanks all for your comments! Even Maggie isn't always as organized as she'd like to be. I hope that if you like this book, you'll go back and read some of the earlier books. Maggie and her friends welcome you to "Orchard View."

I love organization, but am so upside-down right now, I can't see daylight. I had some major changes in the last 10 yrs with the deaths of my grandparents and brother, buying a home and selling my home having 2 kids, gaining a career and then deciding to quit....my aunt moving in with us... I am not good with change and I think too many things changed too quickly for my poor little brain to handle. I started hoarding things, afraid to let go. Now I'm too ashamed to have people over. I know it needs to be cleaned, but not sure where to start. Maybe with a good book. Lol. konecny7(at)gmail(dot)com

Health Note

I've got a shoulder injury, the exact nature of which my doctor is still determining. But it's affecting my ability to type. So posts will be delayed, and comments on other blogs, as well as my own, are on hiatus until typing is less painful or not painful at all.

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